Penile Injection Therapy

Penile injections started in the late 1970's and basically means injecting drugs into the penis to cause erections. It gained wide acceptance prior to the release of Viagra and it is still a common treatment for men who have nerve damage following prostate surgery or for men who are not responding to first line-therapies like oral medications, external devices and therapy.

The erections come on within 5 to 10 minutes after injection and may last for 30 to 60 minutes.

Men need to be properly taught how to inject themselves and therefore supervised injections in the doctor's surgery are highly recommended. It is not sufficient to just be given instructions to learn how to use the technique at home. Additionally, finding the right dose is extremely important and should also be done under medical supervision.

Side- effects of Penile Injections

The side-effects of penile injections can be:

Pain

Bruising

Bleeding

Thickening of penile tissue, which can scar and bend the penis

Priapism, erections that last too long

The greatest risk with penile injections relates to dosage, in that, too big if a dose can cause erections that last too long. This is called Priapism. Erections lasting more than 6 hours can damage the penis. Finding the right dose is important and should therefore always be done under medical supervision.

Additionally, men who have pre-existing scar tissue in their penis, which is called Peyronie's disease, should also use penile injections with care.

Please consult your doctor or GP to discuss the risks of penile injection therapies, to receive further information, and to see whether this is the right treatment for you.